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Audiodrome Podcast: The Music of John Carpenter

This month marks the first anniversary of the Audiodrome: Music in Film series over at Paracinema.net. As such, we wanted to do something special to mark the occasion. When the idea of producing a podcast was suggested, we decided to focus on the work of a composer who has not only a long and wide-ranging career in film soundtracks, but whose work is distinctive, original and enjoyable to listen to.

John Carpenter is not only a renowned filmmaker responsible for some of genre cinema’s most influential and entertaining titles – he is also an accomplished musician. Experimenting with analog synthesizers and digital synthesis at a time when the technology was only just beginning to be explored, his trailblazing early soundtracks highlight him as a true pioneer of electronic music.

Head over to Paracinema.net to download the podcast, and treat your ears to the moody music of Mr Carpenter, as well as my very own dulcet tones. But you probably shouldn't let that put you off.

And while you're there, why not pick up issue 17 of Paracinema Magazine. Inside you'll find the likes of “Endemic Madness”: Subversive 1930s Horror Cinema by Jon Towlson, You Can Clean Up the Mess, But Don’t Touch My Coffin: The Legacy of Sergio Corbucci’s Django by Ed Kurtz and one of my own essays, an examination of the Gothic influences of Sergio Martino’s giallo Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key.

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James is the author of 'Dario Argento' (Kamera Books) and 'The Company of Wolves' (Devil’s Advocates). He contributes to Exquisite Terror and Diabolique, and has also written for Paracinema, Film Ireland, Eye for Film, Little White Lies and The Quietus.